The Twelfth Doctor
by Eighth Row Pawn
Summary: The end of the Doctor's Eleventh reincarnation has come. I don't know if I will ever continue this or not so for now it's labeled complete, but it's just a little thing I wrote a long time ago and thought I would publish. I'm sure it's probably been done, but not by me, so I figured what the heck.


Pain. Darkness. It surrounded him, swallowed him whole, and was dragging him down to a place where things lived that had no name. He felt like he was dying, and he supposed in a way he was. He had been through this process so many times before, and he didn't know who he was going to be next. His hand grasped the railing along the dash of the TARDIS. There was no one else and he whimpered in pain as he tried to support himself.

"Guess it's just you and me, old girl," he whispered softly before gasping in sudden agony and collapsing to the floor. It felt like every atom of him was bursting into flames, and as he stared up at the ceiling of his ship he wondered again. Who was he going to be?

Then it happened. Like the story of the phoenix, a great and mysterious bird that burst into glorious flames at the end of it's long life only to be reborn from the ashes, the Doctor seemed to shine with a great, blinding light as he gave a cry of pain. There were no words to describe the place that he found himself in, and as his body died he felt suddenly detached. It was as if he had left his body behind, his mind even.

His thoughts had no meaning, no concept of anything and for a brief moment he knew complete and utter peace. Darkness. That was all there was. It felt like it was all he had known and all he would ever know. He could just let go... Remain in this peaceful bliss forever. He could.

Instead he breathed. He had a body once again and all the aches and pains that let him know he was alive slammed into him. Giving a cry that sounded oddly high pitched, he gasped for air to fill his lungs and sat straight up. The great phoenix reborn from the ashes. The Twelfth Doctor.

Reaching up, he grasped onto the railing again and pulled himself to his feet, gasping with the effort as he recovered from the extreme process he had just gone through. A sudden dizziness overtook him, however, and the room began to spin. He had no choice but to fold gently to his knees before settling against the wall of the TARDIS and letting darkness consume him.

The living TARDIS enveloped herself around her Doctor lovingly and held him close as he rested. He was never truly alone.

When the Doctor came awake he knew that something was wrong almost immediately. Something felt... different. Opening his eyes, he sat up quickly and took a deep breath as his head spun. Blinking a couple times, he cleared his head and reached up to grab the railing, rising to his feet as he frowned. Something was definitely wrong.

His feet seemed steady as he tested his weight, and he cautiously patted himself up and down to determine that there were no lasting issues. As his hands brushed across his chest, however, he froze in confusion.

"What?" he mumbled to himself before dashing down a corridor of the ship, seeking out a room with a mirror. Swinging open his bedroom door, he skidded inside and came to a stop and stood in front of the mirror. Quickly fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, he finally tore it open and stared into the mirror with a look of utter shock and fascination.

There in the mirror stood a young woman. Not a supermodel, by any means, but not terribly bad looking. The Doctor glanced down hesitantly, swallowing as his throat went suddenly dry. The image in the mirror was not his imagination.

"I'm a... I'm a..." but he couldn't seem to say the word as he twisted slightly to view his reflection at various angles. His hair was still not ginger. Instead it was dark and short like previous incarnations, and while he was not as tall as before, he was still a tall... well, woman.

Despite the confusion and shock that filled his mind, there was already a hint of a smile crossing his new lips and lighting up the feminine features. This was new. He loved new! The longer he looked the bigger he grinned, and finally he closed up the front of his shirt again and turned to dart into his closet.

As he looked upon his clothes, however, self-consciousness suddenly took over. How could he be a woman? How was that even possible? It felt strange and alien and suddenly he wanted to hide it. It wasn't that he was ashamed, of course not! He just wasn't sure how to go about this new adventure. Muttering lightly under his breath he finally just grabbed a bathrobe and tugged it over his frame, opting for choosing out an outfit later.

Returning to the TARDIS' console, he sat down at the central control and leaned against it, taking reassurance in the company of the one companion who had never left his side. The only one he could count on to always be by his side. Running his fingers lovingly along one of the rails he sighed and closed his eyes.

"My sweet lady, TARDIS. What am I going to do now?" he asked softly, but no answer came. At least not a verbal one, but instead a familiar caress. He couldn't explain it, just a mental touch of love that he knew to be a message from his lovely TARDIS. Like a soft breath in his ear whispering 'don't worry, love, i'm here'. And he knew he wasn't alone in this. He would make it through, like he always had.


End file.
